Can opener



A. cfBuRKE CAN OPENER Filed July 16 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I A. C. BURKE CAN OPENER Apr. 17

Filed July 16 1921 2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Apr. 17,-1923t" UNITED STATES 1,452,287 PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT o. BURKE, or LA oEossE', WISCONSIN.

- can OPENER.- I

Application filed July 16, 192-1. Serial No. 485,290.

To all whom it may concern! Be it known that I, ALBERT C, BURKE, a

citizen of the United States, residing in the city of La Crosse, county of La Crosse and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements, in Can Openers. of

which the following is atrue specification,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The invention has reference to can open- An object of the invention is to produce an improved can opener, convenient, simple, and adapted to a wide variety of uses.

Another object of the invention is to produce a can opener that is adapted to make an opening in sealed cans for the pouring out of the liquid contents thereof, and at the same time make another opening or a vent in the can for the ingress of air while the contents of the can are being removed, to facilitate the emptying of the can, by a smgle stroke of the opener; to provide a support for the opener that is adapted to dif ferent heights of cans; and also to provide an opener that shall be adapted to the or-, dinary uses of a can opener of the ordinary type, and that may also be utilized for making mere punctures in cans adapted to per-- unit of the outflow of liquids without the use of hammers, and to so form the opening made that the entire contents of the can will fiow out without restriction of flanges made interiorly in the can during the process of making the opening. p

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation of the device embodying-my invention as applied to use with very short cans, showing the device mounted upon its support in posi tion to be forced downward to make a puncture in the top of a can; Fig. 2 is a per spective view of the device used in making a discharge opening at the edge of the top of a can of medium size, and a vent forthe ingress of air to permit of rapid outflow of the contained liquid, the cutting blades therefor being shown as having made the respective openings; Fig. 3 shows the device as applied to a large-sized can, mounted upon its support, but making a mere vent in the middle,

of the top of the can; Fig. 4 is a perspective view oi the device separated from its standard; Fig. 5 is a detail in partial cross-section of one end of the device; and Fig. 6 is a detail in cross-section of an upper corner of a can, showing the nature of the opening made therein by the use of the cutter for making a discharge opening.

In the drawings the numeral 10 indicates a support or standard for the cutting or slitting tool proper, the support standing substantially vertically, and having a horizontal bent portion 10 at its lower end, upon which a can may be rested :during the use of the dev ce, the upright portion of the support having a plural ty of holes 10 therethrough for receiving a round lug or pivot pin 11 on the end of the cutting tool proper. I

The letter A indicates a large-sized can, the letters AA a medium sized can, and the letter Ba smaller sized can; A indicates the top wall, A the vertical wall, A the usual closely placed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the

lower. end of the standard being bent laterally to form the base part 10 as above described. In this way, the cans can be properly held to position while being opened.

The numeral 11 indicates the lever part of the appliance proper, having at one end a.

member generally designated by the numeral 12, the latter being rigidly secured to the lever 11 by rivets 12. 11 indicates a stud or pivot projecting laterally from the side of the lever in front of the member 12, to be inserted in one of the holes 1O as occasion may require as a support for the end of the lever on the standard. The member 12 is,

as shown, provided with a prong 13 which is bent around in semi-loop form, to provide an edge 13 torest upon the top of the can when the slitting knife 14, that projects practically parallel with the lever, is used long slit in the top of the can,

for cutting a as, when cutting through the top wall near the rim A so that the top may be folded back out of the way, or entirely removed from the can. When used for this purpose the tool is used in the position shown in Fi 4. I

%pon the opposite side of the member 12 vertical portion 17, which,

4 wardly a violent pressure downward by is formed another cutter, or uncture point 15, having a cutting edge 16 t at slopes back in a straight line onone edge and 1s rounded on theopposite edge and brought into conjunction with the cutting edge to form a point, but leaving between the leve'rll and the commencement of the cutting edge 16 a after the puncture has been partially made by the point and cutting edge, and the lever has nearly horizontal, as in Fi 2, begins to press against the metal being pushed inward to make the opening and crowds it firmly against the vertical wall A of the can, against the resistance of the standard 10, close to which the can has been placed, leaving an unguarded opening between the side flanges of the opening and the flange pressed against the wall as described, theunguarded opening being numbered A. The/member 12 has a bend 18 therein, so that the member 15 will stand vertically beneath the edge of the lever 11, as shown, to receive the full thrust offlthe lever upon the member 15 instead of upon the rivets12.

At a point on the lever 11 spaced rearfrom the position of the member 12 is a vent cutter 19,/secured to the lever by rivets 19 the free extremity of this vent cutter being brought to a point 19 as shown, this member 19 also having a bend that brings the point directly beneath the lever, to relieve the rivets'of the strain engendered by cutting through the metal of the top wall of the can. J

In use, if it is desired to cut the top of the can around the rim in the ordinary way, the opener is used in the position shown in Fig. 4, without the standard 10, as, by standmg the lever vertically, with the point of the cutter JA- bearing a ainst the top wall of the can near the rim i and subjected to hand, or to to make an opening ermit of the tool being turned downwar with the lever about horizontal and the lower edge ofthe prong '13 resting on the top wall the rim A; then, with the edge 13 having a bearing upon the top of the can, the lever a blow from a hammer, wide enough to is lifted, bringing the cutting edge of'the against the top,

member with a cutting force against the under side of the top wall of the can; and when the cut is made as far as it can be with the member 13 in its. initial position, the lever is lowered and the tool moved along to give the member 13 another hearing when the lift of the lever is repeated, and a further out knife edge of the part 14; the extent of the out in the top is completed.

But if it is desired to make only a slight opening in the edge of the can for the outis made by the and so on until -flow of liquids like evaporated milk, the can is placed on the horizontal member,- 10 of or upon the top and the standard 10, with the lug orstud 11 in the proper hole 10* in the standard, and the vertical wall of the can close against the edge of thestandard, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2. The member 1? is open at the rear of one side, ,as shown in "Figs. 1 and 2, so that whenth lever is in working position and ready to make a puncture, as shown in Fig. '1, the standard 10 will lie between the lip 13 of the member 13 and the ad'oining face of the member 12, -and thus'be eld in position, unable to be moved sidewise. A downward movement of the lever 11 begins to force the cutting point of the cutter 15 into the metal of the top and gradually cuts an oblong opening, the edges of the top ad:

jacent the out being pressed downward and I inwardly into the can and forming opposed flanges A as shown in Figs. 2, 5, and 6.

knife 16 of the member 15 to make the entire opening, there would be left an opening having both side and end walls, so that were the can even completely reversed bottom side up, some of the fluid would remain in the can. It will be noticed that the movement of the lever in making this discharge opening, and with it, the movement'of the cutter 15, is downward, in direct contrast to the cuttingmovement when the blade 14 is ibeing used, as above describfi.

t is

openin is made in a closed vessel, fluid con: tents therein cannot freely flow out of the vessel unless there is another opening called a vent made at a point somewhat removed from the first openin To furnish this vent, the member 19 reac es the top of the can before the opening made by the member 15 is completed, and at a point removed from the side of the can where the discharge opening is being made, makes another puncture, as shown by the position of the member 19 in Fig. 2 when the lever 11 has been brou ht to a horizontal position, thevsecond openm being comparatively small as compared wit the discharge opening.

a well-known fact that, if a small or flange, all the fluid If, however, it is desired to make but a It is apparent that in'the device shown and described herein, I have provided for the purpose of the invention a very simple, compact, and useful tool, which might, however,

without departing from the spirit'of theinvention. be much changed from the precise form of structure shown and described.

Having now shown and described my invention, what I claim is: l

1. An implement for opening cans comprising a bar having a pair of spaced cutting points thereon adapted to cut openings in the can at diverse places by an inward bending of the wallet the can, one of the cutters belng arranged to leave a portion of the wall free from the inward bend of the substance of the wall, and the other to make an air vent in the wall.

2. An implement for opening cans comprisinga bar having a cutting point thereon adapted to puncture a can by an inward bending of the wall of the can, but leaving a por- .tion of the opening free from the flange made by such bending.

3. An implement for opening cans comprising a bar having a shank projecting angularly therefrom which has a cutting polnt at the outer end thereof and a sharp edge along the portion of the side of the shank, the entire shank being adapted to make an opening in the wall of the can by bending a portion of the wall inwardly and to force a portion of the bent'portion or flange against the wall so as to leave a part of the opening unimpeded by the flange.

4;. An implement for opening cans comprising a lever having a cutting member on through the wall of the can by a stroke 7 of the lever, a pivotal support for the lever adjacent the can, and means for adjusting the connection of the lever with the support.

6. An implement for openin cans comprising a lever having a cutting member thereon adapted to make an opening in the can by a stroke of the lever, a support for the lever, and means for detachably securing the lever to the support.

7. An implement for opening cans comprising a lever having a cutting member thereon adapted to make an opening in the can by a stroke of the lever, a support for the lever, and means for detachably and adjustably securing the lever to the support.

8. An implement for opening cans comprising a lever having a cutting member thereon adapted to make an openlng in the can by a stroke of the lever, a support for the lever, means for detachably securing the lever to the support, and means for preventing the detachment of the lever while employed in cutting the opening in the can.

ALBERT C. BURKE. 

